joshuacourter wrote: ↑Mon Oct 06, 2014 3:59 pm
I primarily use these two methods when I go backpacking/camping. I find them reliable.
1.
Weather.gov. Simply put in the nearest down name or zip code in the upper left where it says "Local forecast by "City, St" or ZIP code. Click the "Go" button and the page will refresh to that town. Here is where you can customize it to your exact location. See the Google Map on the right? Use your mouse to move the map to where you will actually be hiking. Then click on that spot. The page will refresh and you will get a customized
weather forecast up to 10 days for that location. I tend to click on different elevations to get an idea of what to expect. I also check this the night before or morning of my trip to get the latest.
2. Amatuer Radio. [...]
Yes, I use number #1 all the time.
Yet, the snow accumulations always seem too low. For example, this is the prediction for "9 Miles WSW Lone Pine CA
36.54°N 118.22°W (Elev. 9501 ft)":
Tonight ... Total nighttime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday ... New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday Night ... New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday ... New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Sunday Night ... New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
if you add up all those "possibles," the total accumulation for this storm according to
Weather.gov is.... three inches. It often talks in terms of "half an inch" and "an inch," but at that elevation, a lot more could fall.
So, I realized that it's important to get an overview of the
weather system that's causing the prediction. They put the beginning of the overview at the top of the NWS home page. Then, you have to click "More>" to read the whole thing. Right now, it says:
"..... as a developing strong storm over the Rockies will produce heavy snow. Heavy snow will develop across the Northern Rockies Saturday, then intensify as it spreads across Northern Montana Saturday night through Sunday as strong low pressure tracks northeast over the Northern High Plains. There is high forecast confidence of 12 inches of snow Saturday night through Sunday night for eastern slopes of Montana Rockies and across North-Central Montana, including Great Falls and Glasgow. Local amounts in excess of 18 inches are likely. "
That one was written by "Ziegenfelder." That's helpful, because, now I know that the dumping of the most snow is going to happen far, far away from the Eastern Sierra in the Mt. Whitney area. If the high-level discussion mentions that the storm is going to go over California or Sierra Nevada, then I need to be more careful.
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